Post a Comment

Commenting has closed for this entry

Comments

posted by: alex on July 12, 2018 5:00pm

Oy.

posted by: Not Worthy on July 12, 2018 5:12pm

This is sort of an apples-to-oranges comparison because Ned’s ad is so much shorter. He is headed in the right direction; saying ‘I can hear the Grim Reaper at my back and I’ve got nothing to lose’ isn’t bad. But the only brave and bold thing he did in his public life was take on Liebermann and he should play that up. He should run more explicitly against Malloy too - that shot across the bow at the end of the ad was a good start. He’s got a few more weeks before people start paying attention.

posted by: 1644 on July 12, 2018 5:30pm

So, Lamont is old and bored. That’s just what we all want for Governor. Hey, it’s a Republican year, anyway.

posted by: Not Worthy on July 12, 2018 5:48pm

Lamont’s main issue is that he sounds like a guy who once had to look up the definition of ‘pain’ in the dictionary.

posted by: 1644 on July 12, 2018 6:44pm

Not worthy: Yes, the Lieberman thing was good, other than he lost in the end. The theme could be: I am not afraid of a challenge. Talk about business challenges as well as Lieberman. People know Malloy has screwed up the state: he has to say he can fix it without screwing “working people”, some Democratic pablum about the “middle class” that’s code for government union workers. SuBy’s pretty good at that stuff.

posted by: RobotShlomo on July 12, 2018 8:57pm

@1664

While we’re at it talk about how Stefanowski, Stemmerman, and Boughton are small government trickle down Republicans, and how that approach bankrupted Kansas. Even Arthur Laffer, the guy who Stefanowski heaps praise upon said that his theory was B.S. Try it here, and CT will go bankrupt even faster.

posted by: alycia on July 12, 2018 9:56pm

I see two tenacious, sharp, fierce, and inspiring women. They remind me of Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, running against Lamont’s Lt Gov in the primary.

posted by: 1644 on July 12, 2018 10:43pm

Robot: Kansas has its problems, but is in far better shape than Connecticut. As for Laffer, his “curve” is real, it’s just a matter of knowing where you are on it. Moreover, a massive tax cut might be good long term, but would be disastrous short term. That’s why the Fiscal Comm’n recommended just a small reduction in the top rate to signal direction, but balanced the revenue loss with tolls and a sales tax increase. Most of the Republicans aren’t talking a lot about reducing the size of gov’t or trickle down, just reducing pension costs. Boughton’s not really a small gov’t guy anyway.

posted by: darwin on July 13, 2018 4:17am

Lamont is multitasking when he should be focused, he takes his eyes off the road several times, That made me nervous and is a poor choice of metaphor. Sometimes I wonder who makes these decisions.

posted by: AverageTaxpayer on July 13, 2018 6:28am

Not sure the NHI is being fair here:

1. Ned’s ad was not meant to “ignite passion”, and is not an introductory ad intending to make a splash. Instead it’s and ad meant to invoke trust, familiarity, and high purpose.

2. The other ads are youthful and fresh. Lamont is 64yrs old. He is also running to govern the state, and not for a seat in Congress. Splashy would not play in this instance, even if he could pull it off. There is no quick fix to our problems.

Otherwise I agree with the NHI that Lamont’s candidacy is problematic. I just don’t think this ad comparison is the way to get to the bottom of it. Fwiw.

posted by: AverageTaxpayer on July 13, 2018 6:30am

posted by: RobotShlomo on July 13, 2018 10:06am

@1664

The “Great Kansas Experiment” was an abject failure. Kansas lagged behind its neighbors in terms of growth. The tax cuts exploded the deficit even in the face of spending reductions, caused a major reduction in public services including school closures, and ultimately the Kansas legislature repealed those tax cuts, and actually RAISED taxes. Juxtapose that to a state like California which has a high tax rate, and is doing very well.

Here’s the thing; if you cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations and then sit back and HOPE they will take that money and reinvest it, you’re counting on their largess. That makes this a fool’s errand. The same thing always happens; when you give the wealthy all this money for essentially doing nothing but “existing”, they take it an just put it in their pocket. This idea that you’ll get that money back through “growth” has never happened. Every leading economist has said the same thing.

The only thing that cutting taxes does is exacerbate inequality and to starve government, which is what the Foundation for Tax Fairness headed by Grover Norquist wants. To shrink government to the size where you can drown it in a bath tub.

Growth happens from the middle out. If anything we should be giving more money to the middle class, and trying to pass a livable wage, and pursuing things like debt free college and single payer. All of which benefit the middle class.

posted by: ebw1957 on July 15, 2018 7:01am

Over 60 and people still call him “Ned”....... I bet at the club they call him Neddie boy as in “nice volley Neddie boy!” One thing the state doesn’t need is a liberal to the left of Malloy or a felon whose only resume highlight includes a pay to play policy in Bridgeport.

posted by: Ryan Smith on July 15, 2018 9:30am

NHI, I couldn’t agree more. I was stunned when I first watched the Lamont campaign video. Other folks here are making fair points about the purpose and format of the video being different than those of the others posted, but regardless, any campaign ad should at least TRY to make people want to vote, or to convey some basic facts about the candidate. Otherwise it does nothing to garner any votes when the time comes. This video did none of that, as far as I can tell. It also made no mention of Ned’s “running mate” ahead of a primary in which turnout for BOTH candidates is important, since the tickets aren’t yet combined, which begs a whole different set of questions.

Never mind the New York and Texas candidates who are putting out far better material - right in CT, Jahana Hayes just released a really effective video about who she is, what she stands for, and why she’s running. Yes, it’s five times as long as Lamont’s, but it’s also way more than five times as likely to get people to vote on a random lazy summer day in August, in my opinion. (Can’t post the link here but it’s on YouTube as “Truth to Power” by the account “Jahana Hayes”)

Perhaps the people who made her video will find their way to the Lamont campaign eventually.

posted by: beyonddiscussion on July 15, 2018 9:52pm

Ocasio Sanchez’s piece is smokin’. It’s passionate, inspiring and right on message. It articulates exactly where Dems should be right now as they mobilize to bring the bold change we urgently need to fix a Trumpian America that is catastrophically failing all but the mega wealthy and well-connected. It’s the spark of a long overdue political revolution and we all need to get on that subway!